Macbeth Act 1 and 2 Quotes Flashcards
BANQUO: Good sir, why do you start; and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair? I’ the name of truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope,
That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not.
If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favours nor your hate.
1.3.54-64
Speaker: Banquo
Spoken to: Macbeth and the three witches
Circumstance: The witches have just told Macbeth, who is with Banquo, three prophecies: that he will be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King.
DP: Character Revelation
In this quote, Banquo’s resistant and intelligent character is made evident as he does not immediately believe the prophecies told by the witches. He asks, “Are ye fantastical, or that indeed/ Which outwardly ye show?”. Here, he questions whether the witches are solely an illusion or women who bring true prophecies, demonstrating his resistance to immediately believe them, along with his quick and intelligent thinking as he notes the witches could be illusions.
DP: Theme of Ambition for Power
Here, Banquo shows his desire to dominate, know more, and assert his power. This is especially evident when he says, “If you can look into the seeds of time/ And say which grain will grow and which will not,/ Speak them to me, who neither beg nor fear/ Your favours nor your hate.” Banquo says that if the witches can truly see into the future he wishes for them to speak to him rather than to Macbeth as he does not want their help or fear them at all. As he gives them instructions and claims that he is not and will not become impacted by them, he asserts dominance over the witches, accentuating his ambition for power.
MACBETH [Aside]: The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
1.4.55-60
Speaker: Macbeth
Spoken to: Audience
Circumstance: King Duncan has just proclaimed that his eldest son, Malcolm will be the next King, while Macbeth remembers the fact that the three witches told him he would be the next King.
DP: Character Revelation/Development
In this quote, the audience receives the first insight into Macbeth’s jealousy and small, yet growing, desire for power. When Macbeth says, “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires:”, it is clear that his deep desires are something to hide as they are “dark”, evil, greedy and derived from jealousy.
DP: Suspense
Suspense is created “the eye wink at the hand”, as it is a metaphor to explain that the eye would not “pay attention” to what it is that the hand will do, and therefore, that Macbeth should have no reason to feel responsible for whatever actions he might take, even if they are terrible. Thus, the audience receives the idea that Macbeth may choose to do something wrongful.
BANQUO: That trusted home
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But ’tis strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s
In deepest consequence.
Cousins, a word, I pray you.
1.3.129-136
Speaker: Banquo
Spoken to: Macbeth, Ross and Angus are also present
Circumstance: Ross and Angus, two Scottish nobles, come to Macbeth to inform him that the King was very pleased with his service in the war against Norway, and has, therefore, declared Macbth as the new Thane of Cawdor.
DP: Character revelation
In this quote, Banquo’s intelligence, wisdom and care are very accentuated; especially when he says, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,/ The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s/ In deepest consequence”. Here, Banquo says that to lead one to their harm or demise, evil agents will convince them that they are, in fact, truthful, for the sake of gaining their trust. However, often, this is solely a form of betrayal. This proves that Banquo is thinking deeply about the situation and has had experience in situations similar to this one. Additionally, the fact that Banquo is so resistant and cautious, proves the fact that he is looking out for the friend he cares deeply about, Macbeth.
DP: Suspense
As Banquo states that, “The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s/ In deepest consequence”, he is explaining to Macbeth the fact that evil people often tell one some honest advice for the sake of gaining one’s’ trust, only to lead them to their demise with betrayal. This can cause the audience to feel suspense and fear for Macbeth’s future, as they question whether or not Banquo is correct in his statement.
Foreshadow
DUNCAN: There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.
1.4.13-16
Speaker: Duncan
Spoken to: Malcolm
Circumstance: Malcolm has told Duncan about his conversation with someone who saw the former Thane of Cawdor die. Malcolm said that the former Thane did nothing all his life that was as noble as the way he died.
DP: Develops Pathos
As the King says “He was a gentleman on whom I built/ An absolute trust”, the audience may develop pathos for the King, as they may imagine or become aware of how the King feels to be betrayed by someone he trusted deeply.
DP: Character Development
The King states that one cannot tell what is in someone else’s mind, solely by the look on their face. This piece of advice from the King could be something that he has learnt from his recent betrayal, indicating that he has learnt something new and changed. Additionally, as the King offers this advice to Malcolm, Malcolm has also learnt something new, and become wiser.
Situational Irony
LADY MACBETH: The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature’s mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry “Hold, hold!”
1.5.41-57
Speaker: Lady Macbeth
Spoken to: Soliloquy/Self
Circumstance: Macbeth has told his wife, Lady Macbeth, about the prophecies brought to him by the witches. Lady Macbeth becomes filled with ambition as she desperately wants the prophecy of Macbeth becoming King to be true.
DP: Character Revelation
In this quote, Lady Macbeth’s evil and ambitious character nature is revealed. It is made evident as she says, “Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full? Of direst cruelty!”. Here, Lady Macbeth asks evil spirits to take away all of her womanhood, and rather, to fill her up with evil and cruelty. The fact that Lady Macbeth would rather lose all of her woman-like qualities for the sake of being filled with evil is an indication of her immoral and wicked nature, and her intense ambition for more power.
DP: Foreshadow
As Lady Macbeth says, “Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/ That no/ compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between/ The effect and it”, she is asking evil spirits to stop her from feeling guilt or remorse, so that there is nothing that could keep her from executing a terrible deed. Therefore, this quote foreshadows, not only the fact that Lady Macbeth plans on executing a terrible deed, but that she will be prepared to do so with the aid of the evil spirits.
Theme of Ambition
MACBETH: If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgement here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice
To our own lips. He’s here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
And falls on the other.
1.7.1-28
Speaker: Macbeth
Spoken to: Soliloquy/Self
Circumstance: Lady Macbeth has told Macbeth about her idea to kill the King so that Macbeth can be guaranteed the position of King sooner.
DP: Develops Pathos
This quote might evoke feelings of empathy towards King Duncan because, as Macbeth says, King Duncan trusts Macbeth as he is both, “his kinsman and his subject”; Macbeth is Duncan’s host; Duncan is a good, humble man and leader; Duncan does not deserve to be murdered as Macbeth’s sole motivation is his ambition and desires.
DP: Character Revelation
Here, Macbeth reveals a lot of insight into his thoughts regarding murdering the king. The audience learns that Macbeth may sometimes become “blinded” by ambition, he is still a good and caring man as he comes up with many reasons why he should not kill the King: “[the King] is here in double trust: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,/… then, as his host,/ Who should against his murderer shut the door,/ Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan/ Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office, that his virtues/ Will plead like angels”. All in all, Macbeth states that he is the King’s trustworthy kinsman and subject, his host who should protect the King, the King is a good person and leader, and that Macbeth’s desires are not worthy enough for the murder of the King. As Macbeth comes up with all of these reasons not to kill the King, the audience is informed that Macbeth, despite getting distracted sometimes, is a good man at heart, who doesn’t want to kill.
LADY MACBETH: What beast was’t, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now
Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know
How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this.
1.7.1-28,52-64
Speaker: Lady Macbeth
Spoken to: Macbeth
Circumstance: Macbeth told his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, that he is not willing to kill King Duncan.
DP: Theme of Ambition
Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan in a way that diminishes Macbeth’s sense of worth and confidence: “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. Here, it is evident that Lady Macbeth chooses to manipulate Macbeth through his manhood, as she tells him that he was only a man when he said that he would kill the King. The fact that Lady Macbeth attempts to manipulate and even embarrass Macbeth, her ambition and passion for power is made very noticeable, conveying the Theme of Ambition.
DP: Character Revelation
In this quote, Lady Macbeth’s intense, ambitious and dominant personality is very accentuated in several ways. Firstly, Lady Macbeth shows her ambition as it doesn’t phase her at all to manipulate, offend or embarrass Macbeth as she says, “When you durst do it, then you were a man;/ And, to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man”. In this quote, she states that Macbeth was once a man, at the time that he agreed to killing the King, yet he is no longer a man now that he no longer agrees to killing the King, ultimately hurting Macbeth’s ego and manipulating his thoughts. Moreso, her vulgar and dominant personality is evident when she states, “I have given suck, and know / How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me:/ I would, while it was smiling in my face,/ Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,/ And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ Have done to this”. Here, she states that
MACBETH: Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feel as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going;
2.1.39-49
DP: Advances the Plot
As Macbeth speaks of how, “[the dagger] marshall’st me the way I was going;”, he is saying that the dagger is like the last “push” or motivational factor to execute the plan of killing the king; this is how Macbeth interprets it. Thus, this quote advances the plot as, now, the audience understands that Macbeth is both fully convinced and prepared to execute the murder, and he is going to do so.
DP: Suspense
Macbeth says that the dagger, “marshall’st me the way I was going;”, which means that he is prepared to kill the King, and the dagger is what is setting him in motion to execute the plan tonight. As the audience is aware that a murder is about to occur, suspense is built as the audience may wonder if the murder will be successful, if Macbeth will suffer consequences, if Macbeth will be caught, and more.
DP: Foreshadow
Moments before killing the King, he sees a dagger of his own imagination: “Art thou not, fatal/ vision, sensible/ To feel as to sight? Or art thou but/ A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?”. Here, Macbeth questions whether or not the dagger is “Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain”, or a fever. During Shakespeare’s time, severe fevers often resulted in hallucinations. However, Macbeth hallucinates more throughout the play, after he kills the King, indicating his mental decline and the effect of guilt on the individual. Therefore, his hallucinations of the dagger, which he interprets to be due to his fever, are actually foreshadowing the detriment of his murder.
Dramatic Irony
MACBETH: Methought I heard a voice cry“Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep,” the innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleeve of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast,—
2.2.47-52
Speaker: Macbeth
Spoken to: Lady Macbeth
Circumstance: Macbeth has just killed King Duncan, and speaks to Lady Macbeth about his journey.
DP: Foreshadow
Macbeth speaks about how he heard someone cry, “‘Sleep no more! Macbeth doth murder sleep,’” and then states that sleep is the thing that nourishes, heals and soothes one’s mind. The fact that Macbeth heard these words foreshadows his growing mental detriment and paranoia regarding the fact that he has done something so cruel that he will never be able to enjoy sleep or rest again. Also, as he says, “…innocent sleep”, it symbolizes the fact that, as he “murdered” sleep, he also “murdered” or lost his innocence. This further foreshadows the fact that, with his lost innocence, he will continue to do evil in the world.
DP: Character Revelation
As Macbeth is beginning to hallucinate voices that speak of things regarding Macbeth’s loss of innocence and evil deed, the audience becomes aware that Macbeth is facing a mental decline due to the detrimental effects of guilt on the individual. For example, Macbeth says, “‘Sleep no more/ Macbeth doth murder sleep,’ the innocent sleep”. Here, Macbeth states that he believes that he has “murdered” innocent sleep, which symbolizes the way he believes that he is no longer innocent and will, therefore, he unable to rest and feel at peace with himself again. As Macbeth is fearful, guilty, and paranoid, the audience learns that Macbeth, because of his remorse, is truly a good person at heart. Moreso, the audience becomes aware of the changes occurring to mental decline.
MACBETH: Whence is that knocking?
How is’t with me, when every noise appalls me?
What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
2.2.75-80
Speaker: Macbeth
Spoken to: Self
Circumstance: Macbeth is alone, just after he killed the King, and his hands are covered with blood.
DP: Theme of Guilt and the Human Mind
In this quote, Macbeth questions, “How is’t with me, when every noise appalls me?”, indicating that Macbeth’s brain is irritable and distraught, due to the trauma and guilt he feels for the murder he has committed. Furthermore, Macbeth asks, “What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes”. This means that he can barely comprehend the fact that the hands in front of him are his own as he hates the look of his bloody hands. His fear and hatred for his hands is due to the remorse he feels for his murder. Lastly, Macbeth states, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas of incarnadine,/ Making the green one red”. Here, Macbeth says that he doesn’t believe that an entire ocean’s worth of water would be able to wash his blood away. Rather, there is so much blood on his hands that he would turn the water red. This notion that there is too much blood to wash it away is symbolic of the fact that Macbeth will never “wash away” the guilt from his deed that he would live with for the rest of his life.
DP: Character Revelation
Here, Macbeth states questions, “What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes”. Here, as Macbeth states that he is barely able to recognize his own hands and that he despises looking at them. This ghastly feeling regarding his own bloody hands indicates to the audience that, before his murder, Macbeth was never the kind of person willing to kill. Moreso, the audience becomes aware of Macbeth’s mental change of constant restlessness due to his intense remorse. Macbeth’s mental shift is especially evident when he says, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/ Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,/ Making the green one red”. Here, Macbeth states that he will never be able to wash the blood off his hands, even with the aid of an entire ocean’s worth of water. Rather, he says he would transform the ocean water the color of the blood. This is symbolic of the fact that the remorse and trauma he is experiencing will never leave him.
LENNOX: The night has been unruly: where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say,
Lamentings heard i’ the air; strange screams of death,
And prophesying with accents terrible
Of dire combustion and confused events
New hatch’d to the woeful time: the obscure bird
Clamour’d the livelong night: some say, the earth
Was feverous and did shake.
2.3.58-65
Speaker: Lennox
Spoken to: Macbeth
Circumstance: The morning after Macbeth’s murder, Macduff and Lennox enter the castle, not yet aware of the murder of Duncan.
DP: Suspense
From this quote, suspense arises as Lennox states that the evening was wild and odd, explaining “…as they say, /Lamentings heard i’ the air; strange screams of death,/ And prophesying with accents terrible”. In this part of the quote, Lennox says that some heard screams of death, and terrifying voices prophesying terrible and chaotic events. As the evening was such an odd and slightly agonizing experience, suspense arises as the audience questions whether or not it will be discovered and exposed that Macbeth has murdered the King.
DP: Dramatic Irony
In this quote, Lennox mentions that the evening was odd, wild, windy, and some heard screams of death, cries of murder, and voices prophesying times of chaos and awfulness. Thus, Lennox is aware, like the audience that the night passed was a bad one. However, unlike the reader, Lennox is unaware of the fact that the night was so awful because the King was murdered. Even more ironic is the fact that the person Lennox is speaking to, Macbeth, is the one who murdered the King
